Leave It Better Than You Found It

A couple of my kids went out to our camp and left a bit of a mess.  I went into mom-mode and lectured that next time they should "leave it better than you found it."  Today as I watched the news, I couldn't help but think that maybe that should be a philosophy we all adopted.

What if every place we went, we left a bit better than we found it?  What if we helped where we could?  Donated what we could?  Even simply smiled when we passed by people on the street?  I learned years ago that something as simple as a smile can change someone's day...did I ever tell you that story?

I know that I write everything from romantic comedy, to sweet romance, to women's fiction-ish romances, to comedic mysteries.  (And thank you everyone who's read all the above!)  I think that maybe that Leave-It-Better-Than-You-Found philosophy might be my unifying theme.  As I thought about I realized that every character—from one of my earliest books, Bosom Buddies, to my most recent, Carry Her Heart—has somehow tried to do just that. The heroine in A Valley Ridge Christmas went so far as to put the philosophy down in words...I can't change the world, but I can try.

It sounds like a simple philosophy, but sometimes the most complex thoughts are hidden behind simplicity.  I think, in my small way, I've tried to live by this one, even if I hadn't put words to it.  From something as simple as the garden in the backyard, to something like my bit of Monday Glee, to the organizations I support.  I guess, when all is said and done, I hope that people say, it wasn't just my characters who tried to leave things better than they found it, it was me.

Holly